Ready for Rings

Juniors+showing+off+their+new+class+rings

Photo by Caroline Bloodgood

Juniors showing off their new class rings

Every year, juniors anxiously await the Junior Ring Ceremony in fall where they receive their class rings, which symbolize their transition to upperclassmen.

Phyllis Ouellette, head of Student Services, explained about the history of this beloved tradition, “We know that junior rings have been given to the students here as far back as the 1940s. However, at one point, they were given to seniors at the beginning of their senior year. It appears that around the 1960s, they started giving the rings to the juniors halfway through their junior year to mark their entrance into being upperclasswomen.” Because this is such a longstanding tradition, some LOTAs have mothers or grandmothers who have their class rings, and get to share this special night with them.

During the ceremony, students processed in with white roses and placed them in vases. Student council leaders and members of the administration said a few words about the ceremony and the Class of 2021. The rings were blessed, and then placed on their fingers. There was a nice reception afterwards where the students took pictures with their new rings.

Photo by Caroline Bloodgood
Junior Sophia Costa receiving her ring from Principal John Sullivan

Ouellette said, “It’s a very elegant evening. It is both solemn and joyful. It is solemn because we are inducting the members of the junior class into the older group in the school. It is joyful because we are blessing the rings and when they are put on the student’s hand, it is conveying to that student, that our blessing for that student is that they remain women of courage, compassion, and scholarship and that they continue to enjoy their sisterhood. It is a class bonding event as well.”

Ouellette also mentioned, “We advertise to girls who have not purchased a ring and would like to use their own ring to bring them in the week of the ceremony.” Several students use rings that have sentimental value or that have been passed down through their family as an alternative to the class ring.

Students are given the option to have the ring engraved with their name or initials. Junior Piper Sullivan expressed, “I liked seeing the ring when it was brand new and the feeling of having a ring with my name on it.” 

Ouellette continued, “The rings take 6 to 8 weeks to make because they are are actually made in Germany, and each ring is individually made. So we have to have the juniors order their rings the first week of school.” Options for the ring include different gold and silver bands, and a choice of a pearl, onyx, or purple stone in the middle.

Junior Dani Lock explained, “I really love this tradition because I believe the rings symbolize unity and community and it makes me proud to be a Tartan.”

Sullivan expressed, “My favorite part of the ceremony was the blessing of the rings. I know that I’ll be able to keep my ring forever and remember all of the good times we’ve had as a class.”